Saturday, April 8, 2017

Despite Easy Access To Knowledge Ignorance Still Proudly Stalks America


                                           Good Day World!

With knowledge so easy to come by these days why do people put others down that plainly know more than them?

Someone of learning was once considered a national treasure. It was said that when an old man dies a library burns down.

Now, for the first time in history the common man has complete access to the ultimate library - the Internet. 
We're all able to find the answer to any question in the universe by simply "Googling it."

With all that information available you'd think we would of advanced further as a civilization by 2017. 

But that's not what's happening.

Instead we see the spread of ignorance, hate, and bigotry reaching historic proportions. We also see the spread of fake news blurring the lines of reality. 

The only way a person like Donald Trump was able to get elected was by utilizing the internet and by-passing all of the traditional channels. Russian hackers helped a lot too.

Social engineering by our enemy Russia has reached a fever pitch after years of preparation (that according to the experts who testified in the Senate Intelligence hearings recently) by causing division among Americans.

Well placed fake new stories on extremist and fringe websites have sprung to life creating alternative facts (as explained by Trump surrogate Kellyann Conway.)

The polarization of our politics took the Russians years, but they have now succeeded in paralyzing our politics and the American people.

Of course they had plenty of help from our own homegrown haters like the KKK, Neo Nazi's, and other extremist groups that have been crawling out from beneath their rocks since Trump entered politics. 

Perhaps the most insidious effect of the internet is it's ability to provide forums where your world beliefs are re-affirmed - even if they're not factual.

Too many Americans get into echo chambers instead of expanding their knowledge and looking at all the information that's out there by experts in every field of learning.

As a clever person once said, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink."

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday, April 7, 2017

Trump and Xi Do Have Something In Common: Nepotism



Nepotism: The practice among those in power or influence of favoring relatives and friends, especially giving them jobs.

                                          Good Day World!

Nepotism in the news;

When Trump met with China's leader Xi at his "Winter White House/and his profitable private golf club" the two had one thing in common;

The both firmly believe in nepotism.

Zhang Haibin, a professor of international relations at Peking University in Beijing recently told reporters, "Chinese people love nepotism, we’re very good at it. We have been using social networks and influential relationships to facilitate business and political dealings for thousands of years."

While Xi has tried to avoid signs of nepotism as he undertakes a widespread anti-corruption campaign, reports have emerged that his family members became wealthy as he rose through the ranks.

Chump's family was already rich. That didn't prevent patriarch Stump from wanting to get richer and to satisfy his thirst for power and acclaim.

As we all know Rump has made his son-on-law Jared Kushner the second most powerful man in the White House. His daughter Ivanka has moved into the White House circle (without pay) but privy to national secrets as his "...eyes and ears."  

His sons get to leech off the government while pursuing their business interests worldwide. They're supposedly running the Trump organization, but most people know better.

Trump is still firmly in charge of the family business despite violating the Constitution (Emolument clause).

In a Forbes interview published last month, Eric Trump inadvertently admitted that he does discuss “the bottom line, profitability reports [of the Trump Organization] and stuff like that” with his father - clumsily disclosing how ethically inappropriate his family’s business ties are now that his father occupies the White House.

As these two world leaders talk they'll at least have something in common - nepotism. Without golf to break the ice (Xi thinks it's a shady practice) they can talk about their families.

Time for me to walk on down the road... 

Thursday, April 6, 2017

No Moral Authority In the White House Makes Life Easier For China


                                           Good Day World!

We can thank Trump for effectively ending whatever moral authority Washington had with the world.

His contempt for the judiciary is already legendary. His travel ban policy was a complete contradiction of human rights obligations under international law.

Last month, it emerged the US had declined to sign a letter criticising China over the alleged torture of human rights lawyers and activists, in a break with past practice.

Margaret Huang, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, recently told Reuters that despite having been in office for less than 100 days, Trump could already boast “a significantly dismal human rights record.” 

Countries like China can take a deep sigh of relief knowing their longtime major critic, Washington, has abdicated all moral authority.

When China's blood-stained leader Xi arrives to spend time with Chump at his private golf course there's one thing that won't happen: a few rounds of golf between the two flawed leaders.

Wi and his boys think golf is a shady underhanded practice and actively discourage it in China. Taking that round of golf away from our Liar-In-Chief is really going to throw him off his game.

Trump has been silent about Xi merciless reign. He's attempted to transform his own "hateful" campaign rhetoric into policy.

It's already apparent Stump has abdicated any global leadership in pursuit of nationalism. We no longer have the adult at the bargaining table.

Frankly, the optics of their meeting is Xi Jinping will be the adult in the room, and Donny Little Hands the spoiled kid who can be sweet-talked and bribed.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Mr. 'Art of the Deal' Can't Stop Jobs From Leaving The Country: And Now a 'Trump Slump' in Tourism

Good Day World!

Another Liar-In-Chief campaign promise is quietly slipping into the quagmire of chaos that has come to define his bumbling administration.

Remember how Chump boasted about stopping jobs from leaving the country when he was elected? How he would be the "Job Creator?" 

Reality is bumping up against rhetoric.

The exodus of American businesses leaving the country continues, and to pour salt on the wound, Rump's immigration ban attempts have hurt the tourism industry, costing billions of dollars in revenue.

'Trump Slump': Could Well Mean Over $10 Billion Per Year In Lost Tourism Revenues 


Nothing about Trump’s boast to save jobs has anything to do with reality. As Bloomberg reports:
Illinois Tool Works Inc. will close an auto-parts plant in Mazon, Illinois, this month and head to Ciudad Juarez. Triumph Group Inc. is reducing the Spokane, Washington, workforce that makes fiber-composite parts for Boeing Co. aircraft and moving production to Zacatecas and Baja California. TE Connectivity Ltd. is shuttering a pressure-sensor plant in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in favor of a facility in Hermosillo...etc.
As U.S Jobs Flee The Country, One of Trump's Biggest Campaign Promises Is Already Going Down In Flames

Stung by the blow back from his own party, Dump has changed his mind about raising tariffs on incoming goods. He's also backed off (at least for now) renegotiating NAFTA.

U.S. Companies Still Leaving For Mexico Despite Trump

It isn't just American companies relocating abroad, there is also a growing number of professionals - skilled immigrants - who are considering leaving the U.S. because of Hump's hate-based attacks against them.

Stump's core supporters truly believed what the orange vulgarian said on the campaign trail about creating jobs and stopping them from leaving the country.

I don't feel sorry for them. Lump's supporters chose to ignore who he really was, despite mounds of evidence that proved he was a con man and habitual liar.

As Bump slowly unravels under the increasing pressure of investigations (three right now) looking at connections between his team and Russia, expect more smoke and mirrors from the America's first illegitimate president.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Crooked Connections: Trump and Fox and Friends Find Common Ground in Conspiracy Theories


                                           Good Day World!

Our first illegitimate president loves nothing more than to wake up and watch a report on Fox and Friends.

Their slanted stories fuel Chump's paranoia daily. Sometimes he gets so excited he tweets about them minutes after they go off the air.

The latest example came yesterday morning when Lump woke up, watched Fox and Friends, then volleyed a series of false accusations on twitter, including attacks on Hillary Clinton and repeated claims that he had been under surveillance by the previous administration.

Think about that for a moment. The President of the United States gets his information from a right-wing cable news show that ranks near the bottom in journalistic integrity and accuracy.

He likes to follow up his love affair with Fox and Friends by visiting hard core extremist right-wing platforms like Breitbart and Alex Jones' InfoWars. 

Thump is not interested in facts and true stories that don't fit his worldview. 

That's why he's so friendly with Fox and Friends. The show went to bed with Dump during his presidential campaign and is now comfortably embedded in his daily routine.

With all the expert advice available to Rump he chooses to praise and believe in what the fawning idiots at Fox and Friends say.

It's no wonder Bump has the lowest rating for a new president ever. It's hovering around 36 percent approval, with two-thirds of Americans unhappy with him.

As long as Fox and Friends continue to encourage Drumpf he's going to be their number one fan. 

However, because Frump is so-thin skinned and easily offended, it's just a matter of time before he finds fault with Fox and Friends, and sends them an angry twitter storm.

Related:

Donald Trump Trusts Fox and Friends Over His Own Intelligence Community

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Monday, April 3, 2017

Around and Around We Go, Where We End Up... No One Seems To Know But Trump

Good Day World!

Hop on the merry-go-round. 

Remember the days when outside theatres had a merry-go-round - along with swings and slides - just below the big screen?


I remember watching many movies with my brother and sisters while twirling around on a merry-go-round. 

It was fun getting dizzy and hanging on for dear life.

Six decades later and now I don't like merry-go-rounds. I also don't like getting dizzy.

But like millions of other Americans, I'm stuck on the Trump (not so) merry-go-round with it's lies and racial agendas. 

It's undeniable

The regime of Vladi­mir Putin has brazenly intervened in U.S. politics, including hacking the Democratic National Committee and releasing stolen material through the WikiLeaks site.

It's still trying to disrupt our political system by sowing fake news and faux controversies on social media; and it's attempting to disrupt elections in other Western democracies, like France and Germany.

The top priority of the president and Congress should be to fully expose this hostile assault and develop means to counter it.

Instead, our intrepid orange-hued hater-in-chief is trying to confuse the public about the facts and to prevent the truth from coming out.

That makes Putin's job much easier. 

As my grandfather use to say, "...and the merry game goes on."

Time to walk on down the road...

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Story Time In Trump Land: Someone Has a Whopper To Share

Good Day World!

Once upon a time...

not so long ago, Trump claimed if someone asked for immunity they had something bad to hide. 

During one of his campaign rallies Michael Flynn - who was Chump's security advisor during the campaign - joined in and repeated the accusation; "If you want immunity you must have something to hide."

Flash forward.

Story time.

The now disgraced former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, who Stump appointed, has asked for immunity in return for telling "an interesting story."

His lawyer claims, "He's got a story to tell." Doesn't that sound delicious?

It's not clear who is involved in the story, but Flynn is frantically trying to cover his ass since he got fired for lying to Pence. That's another story that bears investigating.

At this time no one is interested in granting Flynn immunity. It's not that the Senate Intelligence Committee doesn't want to hear his story - they're just not prepared to offer him immunity for it.

According to a declassified intelligence assessment, it was in March when Russian hackers “began cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election.” 

It was at that time it became clear that Hillary Clinton was emerging as the Democratic nominee. The same was true for Lump who was consolidating his core.

The million-dollar question is, did members of the Trump campaign help the Russians hack the Democratic National Committee and chairman John Podesta, or help Russia attack Hillary in any other ways?

Is that the story Flynn wants to tell?

As Lump's close confidant, Flynn would have known if there was collusion with the Russians. If so, Flynn must also know that he's now a target.

During the Senate Intelligence hearing last week one of the experts on Russia testified that eight Russians - with connections to the Bump campaign - have died mysterious deaths. 

Law enforcement sources say one theory is that Trump associates could have been motivated by money.

But classified sources said the FBI wants to get the investigation absolutely right so that the public will trust the result, whatever that turns out to be.

That sounds good to me. As long as the result isn't another story masking another reality.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...